Government structure of Communist Czechoslovakia

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The government of Czechoslovakia under Marxism–Leninism was in theory a dictatorship of the proletariat. In practice, it was a one-party dictatorship run by the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, the KSC.

In the 1970s and 1980s the government structure was based on the amended 1960 Constitution of Czechoslovakia, which defined the country as the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. The Constitutional Act on the Czechoslovak Federation (1968) transformed the country into a federal state and stipulated the creation of two constituent republics, with separate government structures for the Czech Socialist Republic, located in Prague, and the Slovak Socialist Republic, situated in Bratislava. These republic governments shared responsibility with the federal government in areas such as planning, finance, currency, price control, agriculture and food, transportation, labor, wages, social policy, and the media. The central government, located in Prague, had exclusive jurisdiction over foreign policy, international relations, defense, federal stockpiles, federal legislation and administration, and the federal judicial system.

Government institutions in Czechoslovakia performed legislative, executive, and judicial functions. The Constitution clearly defined the responsibilities for making and implementing policy held by each branch of government. In reality, however, all decisions of state were made by the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. Government bodies existed purely, to administer the party program.